Daily Thoughts: “At the name of
Jesus every knee must bend, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue proclaim to the Glory of God the Father, that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Passionists pray this prayer at least twice every day. It is the prayer we pray
to begin every communal gathering of prayer. It is a prayer that brings us
together as a community and focuses our life of prayer.
Thomas Merton captures the essence of
this prayer from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians when he says, “This act
of total surrender is not merely a fantastic intellectual and mystical gamble;
it is something much more serious. It is an act of love for this unseen person,
who, in the very gift of love by which we surrender ourselves to his reality
also makes his presence known to us.”
Perhaps said differently, each time
Passionists come together through this prayer what we are doing is surrendering
ourselves to the profound love of Jesus and with that surrender Jesus makes his
presence known to us through prayer, through community, through ministry and
through the living of life.
Why not try it for yourself, any time
you pause to pray surrender yourself to Jesus by beginning your prayer with St.
Paul’s beautiful words, “At the name of Jesus every knee must bend, in heaven,
on earth and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the Glory of God the
Father that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Then
let Jesus make his presence known to you!
Have a great day everyone!
Daily Prayer: Grant us, O
God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct
pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of
finally embracing you. Amen.” (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)
A Runner’s Thoughts: Some words of
inspiration and faith for today are – “I run because long after my footprints
fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the
trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I
did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.” (Dean Karnazes) And
I believe, I have faith in God, in Christ, in the Spirit, because long after I
am gone maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy road, hit the
Eucharist, prayer and community, put one foot in front of the other, and come
to the same conclusion I did: I believe because it always takes me to God’s
love!
Daily Blessing: Have a great
Tuesday everyone! Make sure you get out and vote today because it is an
important right that we have and whether you are a Democrat, Republican or
Independent – a Conservative, Liberal or someone in between, it is still important
to us your right to vote. Not everyone has this right!
In a few hours I will be heading out to
the end of Long Island to begin my eight day silent retreat. So until next
Tuesday, November 11th I will be unplugged! There will be no daily
thoughts, prayers, runner’s thoughts or daily blessing prayers. I will check my
email once a day but other than that I am off the internet grid. I will be
keeping you in my retreat prayers and I ask that you keep me in yours.
My simple prayer of blessing today is
that wherever you are, whatever you are or will be doing, whomever you meet –
will be blessed and be a blessing from God. I pray your day will go well and be
all that you need and want it to be. Many blessings on your journeys, your work
and ministry, your interactions with others and your moments of quiet with
yourself and may God’s presence be a source of life for you and all you meet! See
you again next Tuesday have a peace filled week without me! Peace in Christ's
Passion...Fr. Paul
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